The Supreme Court put on hold its order from November 20 that had accepted a new definition of the Aravalli Hills, citing the need for further clarification. A vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant ordered a new committee to be set up to survey and study the hills.

The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter amid concerns that the revised definition could enable unregulated mining and environmental damage.

Under the definition accepted in November, an Aravalli hill was described as a landform rising at least 100 metres above the surrounding area, while an Aravalli range was formed by two or more such hills located within 500 metres of each other, including the land between them.

Environmentalists warned that this could leave many ecologically important but lower hills vulnerable to mining and construction. Read on.

The slow destruction of Delhi’s forgotten spine

The Supreme Court stayed a Delhi High Court order that had suspended the life sentence of former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case involving a minor. The court was hearing a petition by the Central Bureau of Investigation challenging the High Court’s December 23 order, which had also granted bail to Sengar.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked Sengar’s counsel to file a response within four weeks and directed that the complainant be provided legal aid. Despite the High Court’s order, Sengar was to remain in jail as he is also serving a separate 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the complainant’s father.

The High Court had held that Sengar, as an elected MLA, could not be treated as a “public servant” under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, a finding contested by the CBI. Read on.

The factions of the Nationalist Congress Party headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar will contest the municipal elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad in an alliance. The tie-up in Pune was announced on Monday, while that in the neighbouring city of Pimpri-Chinchwad was made public on Sunday.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar said the decision was taken after considering the sentiments of party workers who favoured contesting the elections together.

The principal rival for the NCP alliance in the area is the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is an ally of Ajit Pawar’s faction at the state level.

The municipal polls in 29 cities, including Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune, will take place on January 15 and the votes will be counted a day later. Read more.

The Border Security Force rejected claims by the Bangladesh Police that two suspects in the killing of activist Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to India across the Meghalaya border. The Meghalaya head of the paramilitary force said that there had been no such cross-border movement in the area and even the Bangladesh Border Guard has not reported any such incident.

The Bangladesh Police alleged that the two suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, had crossed into Meghalaya through the Haluaghat border area with the help of Indian residents. It further claimed that two Indian residents who assisted the suspects were in the custody of the Indian authorities.

However, the Border Security Force said that the claims were “completely false, fabricated, and misleading”.

Hadi was a prominent leader in the 2024 student protest that led to the ouster of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government. He died on December 18, six days after being shot in Dhaka. Read more.

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